Dark Days

The Black Friday loss to Iowa represents the worst kind of direction for Nebraska football – apathy   

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Grownoski Plowski: It all makes me want to puke, but Iowa’s version of the “Tush Push” with quarterback Mark Grownoski – running like a grown ass man – worked against Nebraska (of course it did) just before halftime with a 1-yard touchdown that extended the Hawkeyes’ lead to 24-16 heading into the break. Illustration by Anthony Aleman 

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Many times writing this column, by the time I come up for air, I realize I’ve banged out nearly 3,000 words obsessing over Huskers football and wonder if it’s too long. Have I said too much? Or, is it somehow possible I haven’t said enough? Well, in the aftermath of the soul-sucking 40-16 Black Friday loss to Iowa, I figured out an ingenious way to shorten things up by turning 3,000 words into two. 

“We suck.”  

Unlike past years, the Hawkeyes rolled into Lincoln and needed absolutely ZERO black magic this time around – no crazy/fluky special teams plays (although there was one), no field goals (Nebraska supplied those when they couldn’t capitalize in the red zone during the first half) and no pull-a-rabbit-out-your-hat plays from 2-star guys who

are from small towns in Iowa and who are surely paid one-tenth what Nebraska’s overpriced transfer wide receivers are (actually – and Iowa didn’t even need it – but it got one of those, too, in the fourth quarter from some guy named Reece Vander Zee from some town called Rock Rapids who showed Nebraska’s half-a-million-dollar man Dane Key just how to make a play on a 50-50 ball; Husker fans who have paid close attention this year know that Key turns 50-50 balls into 10-90 balls).   

When it comes to aggravation, that’s just the tip of the iceberg after Nebraska put a particularly disgusting bow on Year 3 of the Matt Rhule tenure. Regarding my sometimes-lengthy columns, Dispatch editor Jim Minge is typically reassuring: “Well, there’s a lot to talk about.” And he’s right. Despite Iowa’s demoralizing win – its 10th in 11 games in the series and seventh in a row in Memorial Stadium – there’s still a lot to talk about.

After the Minnesota loss in October, I likened Huskers fans to a dog waiting for its bone. Well, the bone never came: Nebraska’s four wins in conference play were all mediocre, coming against teams who combined for nine conference wins themselves. Against quality opponents, Nebraska floundered and went 0-5. Yay? We’ve given up on the bone, instead lingering in the living room, chasing our tails. 

But even the most boneheaded of dogs (in this case, us) gets tired of chasing their tail at some point. 

Is it possible to be disgusted and apathetic at the same time? After all, being “disgusted” indicates some level of passion at least, while apathetic indicates a lack of that very thing. Me and my friends have joked for a decade-plus – typically after a loss to Iowa – that we are finally “done,” finished with Huskers football. This year, we added in the caveat “and I really mean it this time.” This is blasphemy, of course. The passion will always be there to some degree. But heading into 2026 and coming off the least impressive 7-5 season you’ll ever see, to what degree has the passion diminished?  

There’s a bowl game still to play, but the offseason looms. As always, there will be drama and storylines to follow – coaching changes, the transfer portal, and recruiting additions – the most important being Dylan Raiola. But after that decade-plus, which was full of losses that have ranged from close to humiliating and complimented by “good” wins that have been numbered extremely few and have been extremely far between (except for 2024 Colorado, most of those ”good” wins came in 2015 and 2016 under Mike Riley – think about that for a minute), the Nebraska fanbase has little to hang its hat on outside of its passion. Even the sellout streak is wearing thin; what was once a badge of honor and indication of everlasting enthusiasm is starting to feel like Stockholm Syndrome. It’s a fine line – nothing but the letter “a,” in fact – between apathetic and pathetic.    

With that being said, on to this week’s edition of “Four Downs.” We’ve reached the end of the regular season and, continuing with the theme, I’m simultaneously fired up and don’t really care. It’s a weird place to be. Hut-hut? Hmm… maybe we go with a silent count this week. You know, where the quarterback lifts and stomps his leg as indication for the center to snap the ball. A silent count is very representative of the empty Memorial Stadium and its accompanying action is a good representation of Nebraska peeing all over a fire hydrant rather than bothering to play football during its latest Black Friday debacle on national television.   

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FOUR DOWNS 

Emmett Johnson accounted for 239 of Nebraska’s 300 yards on the day. 

1. Emmett Johnson shined on his walk down the Big Red Carpet into Huskers lore during the first half, so why did offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen go away from him during a key drive in the second? To Nebraska’s credit, after the aforementioned crazy/fluky special teams blunder – a fumble by punt returner Jacory Barney that turned into a safety – the Blackshirts stepped up and forced a punt on the ensuing kickoff. While by this point the momentum had completely shifted, all hope was not yet lost; the Huskers got the ball back

in good field position at their own 35, still trailing just 26-16. On first down, Emmett did what he does, making something out of nothing and gaining six yards. On second and third down? Holgorsen inexplicably chose to lean on injured, immobile and ineffective quarterback T.J. Lateef, who promptly threw two incompletions. Punter Archie Wilson proceeded to limp out a flaccid kick that traveled all of 30 yards, and 7 plays and 71 yards later, Iowa had basically sealed the deal with a 33-16 lead that had Huskers fans heading to the exits.  

Johnson had 183 yards rushing on 20 carries up to that point; Lateef was 5 of 14 passing. As I said earlier in the year, being an offensive coordinator isn’t easy; most of the time, the idiots on the couch are wrong. But run the ball, man! It’s Thanksgiving weekend! I’m on my fourth meal, keep feeding Emmett, too! Seconds, thirds, fourths, fifths! Give peace – and Emmett Johnson – a damn chance. But we idiots were right this time, again, another indication that Holgorsen is either past his prime or growing apathetic, too.    

The sequence was maddening. That Holgorsen chose to run quarterback-turned-tight end Heinrich Haarberg at the goal line in the fourth quarter – he fumbled, of course – when Nebraska had a chance to salvage some pride? That was just laughable. I mean, why on Earth would you want to use your all-conference running back when you can depend on a former quarterback who rarely handles the ball anymore? Past his prime … apathy … dementia … it’s all the same when you lose 40-16 to your hated rivals. 

Emmett, by the way, accounted for 239 of Nebraska’s 300 yards on the day. Go pro, man. 

2. In a somewhat surprising move, Matt Rhule made John Butler the sacrificial lamb when he fired the first-year defensive coordinator on Monday. Who knows what goes on behind closed doors, but I can’t help but feel bad for Butler. His defense was outmanned against the above-.500 teams Nebraska faced in the Big Ten – Michigan, Minnesota, USC, Penn State and Iowa – who were bigger, faster, stronger than the Blackshirts. 

The theory that previous defensive coordinator Tony White left for Florida State in the offseason because he saw the writing on the wall makes a lot of sense. Having defensive tackle and 6-foot-5, 300-pound behemoth Ty Robinson clogging up the middle was that important. Last offseason, Rhule opted to spend NIL money appeasing quarterback Dylan Raiola with new receivers and defensive backs while depending on younger (and undersized) guys to replace Robinson on the defensive line. But football is won from the inside out – perhaps you’ve heard me say that before? – and flashy wide receivers and defensive backs aren’t worth much when your quarterback is lying on the ground or the other team is running it down your throat.  

Perhaps the Rhule-Butler separation was mutual. Or perhaps the pair had philosophical differences, which also makes sense: Butler’s 3-3-5 defense (which is the same scheme White ran) doesn’t make much sense in the Big Ten. And some of Nebraska’s defensive rankings were fool’s gold; the Blackshirts ranked 26^th in yards allowed per game at just over 300, but some of what goes in to that number could and should be credited to the slow, methodical style of Big Ten football.  

Since we’re heading in that direction anyway, I might as well just say it: I’m souring on Matt Rhule. Like, big time. He talks a good game; the problem is that his teams rarely play one – at least not against good competition. And Rhule’s passive aggressive “I don’t surround myself with toxic people” in the Iowa postgame press conference makes him sound like a frustrated baby grasping at straws and looking to project the blame onto somebody else. The honeymoon is officially over, Matt, and Huskers fans have grown sick of the talking. Maybe Butler’s firing isn’t that surprising after all.   

3. Let’s back up the “souring on Matt Rhule” argument with some help from our research department. We’ve already mentioned this, but it’s worth repeating: Nebraska’s four Big Ten wins this season came against teams that combined to win just nine Big Ten games of their own. Over three seasons, Rhule has a paltry conference record of just 10-17. Those 10 wins have come against teams with a combined conference record of 27-63. Only one of the 10 has come against a team with a winning conference record, which was a home win over a Northwestern team in 2023 (the Wildcats were 5-4 in the Big Ten.   

That’s a long – but factual – way of saying that nothing Rhule has done so far is all that impressive, save for maybe that dominating win over Colorado at home in 2024. And he will never, ever, ever have it as easy as he did this year. Next year, 2025 College Football Playoff shoe-ins Ohio State, Indiana and Oregon replace “difficult” opponents USC and Michigan on the Big Ten schedule.     

Fired up yet? I didn’t think so.  

4. The slow drift towards apathy is real, but to what degree will it be reflected this offseason? As with me and my friends, it’s been the natural life cycle of diehard Huskers fans for the last decade. Nebraska finishes the season with a disappointing loss; fans swear off NU football forever or at least say outlandish things like “I’m done until we start winning”; Nebraska then gets some shiny new toys in the form of recruits and transfer portal additions; traditional local media falls for it all, and talks up the shiny new toys in podcasts and news articles; the absence of football – any football, but especially Huskers football – over the long spring and summer makes the Husker heart grow fonder; and by mid-August the once-emotionally depleted Huskers fan of the previous November has convinced himself that if … if only … if only this guy does that … or that coach does this … if … if … if … if all goes well we might have a chance at a surprisingly good season.  

Something about the end to this season for the Husker fanbase feels different and more (a)pathetic than usual. Losing Dylan in the transfer portal would only add another chapter to the “what might have been” book that is “Huskers Football, 2015-25.” My guess is that, of course, there will be some level of energy and positivity heading into 2026. But it’s unquantifiable and decay is difficult to notice when you’re looking in the mirror every day. One day, your tooth just falls out.  

“Deep-ish Thoughts,” by Jack Handoff 

• This week’s play that launched 1,000 texts: Barney’s aforementioned fumble on a punt return in the second quarter. On one hand, Jacory got caught red handed playing hero ball trying to swing momentum in Nebraska’s favor; the fumble and safety did just that – except for Iowa. And while I don’t like targeting calls in general, this one did fall under the “why even have the damn rule if you’re not going to call it there?” guidelines.  

• The teams who helped kick off the 2025 season in Arrowhead Stadium must be fans of Tom Petty. “Free Fallin’,” to be exact. Once promising seasons from Nebraska and Cincinnati did just that – the two combined to finish 1-7 in the month of November; both end the regular season at 7-5. 

• I don’t regret picking against Iowa. I don’t care if by 2039 the Hawkeyes have made it 24 out of 25 and 14 in a row in Memorial Stadium, I will never, ever, ever pick the Hawkeyes in this game.   

• Thank God for the volleyball palate-cleanser on Friday and Saturday. The Nebraska volleyball juggernaut picked up the slack by dominating two matches (sweeps, no shit) against Penn State and Ohio State. The ladies march towards the Final Four starts this weekend at the Devaney Center with a match on Friday against Long Island University. I’m going out on a limb and predicting a sweep (again, no shit.) 

• That being said ESPN is ruining the weekend by putting NU volleyball’s matches on ESPN-plus. If you want to watch the women dominate this weekend, it’s going to cost you $19.99 to sign up for ESPN-plus. Personally, I’m just going to see how the television schedule develops for more interesting games after they win two this weekend. I’d say that’s a potential curse and “famous last words,” but this is Nebraska volleyball we’re talking about, not football. All they do is take care of business.